Historical Sketch of Avon, OH (to 1974)

This historical information was written by Taylor J. Smith.

  1. Introduction
  2. Climate & History
  3. Dr. Norton S. Townshend
  4. Germ Theories of History
  5. I-90 & SR-83 Interchange

The City of Avon, Ohio, is located in northeast Lorain County near Lake Erie. At the close of the American Revolution in 1783, the British and the Iroquois organized a general Indian confederation to defend the Ohio River frontier against the Americans. The land that was to become Avon lay in Indian territory.

In 1789, the French Revolution began, followed by the world conflict known as the Napoleonic wars. In 1790, the Americans joined the struggle in a full-scale war against the British-backed Indians. In 1794, General Anthony Wayne crushed the Indians at Fallen Timbers, and the United States pushed the frontier west to the Cuyahoga River.

By the Treaty of Fort Industry in 1805, the Indians gave territory on the west side of the Cuyahoga River to the Americans which included the site of Avon. However, it was dangerous to attempt permanent occupation of this land until the power of the Indians and the British was smashed in the Lake Erie region. This was accomplished by the defeat of of Tecumseh at Tippecanoe in 1811 and by the victory of Oliver Hazard Perry on Lake Erie in 1813.

Napoleon unleashed the enthusiasm of a nation in arms with the massed infantry charge, against which a thin line of musketeers could not stand. War was no longer the sport of kings, but Napoleon lost his last battle at Waterloo. The long struggle came to an end with British triumph in Europe in 1815. Napoleon was confined for life on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic off the coast of South Africa.

Township Number 7 in Range 16 of the Western Reserve received its first permanent American settlers during 1814 from Montgomery County, New York, led by Wilbur Cahoon. The township was administered by Dover township and was part of Cuyahoga County. In 1818, Township Number 7 was organized and first named Xeuma, then later, Troy Township. [Note that Sheffield is Township Number 7 in Range 17 of the Western Reserve.]

In 1824, Lorain County was created, and the name of Troy Township was changed to Avon Township. An Avon post office was established in 1825.


 Looking west at the I-90 - SR-83 interchange in 1974

 Looking west at the I-90 -- SR-83 interchange in 1974